craziest play ever? (FBS: Oregon @ Utah)

[JayJ79]

http://deadspin.com/receivers-blunder-turns-78-yard-td-catch-into-100-yard-1656480872

Utah completes what should be a 78-yard TD pass, and the Utah players start celebrating.

But not so fast my friend, the Utah receiver dropped the ball just prior to crossing the goal line.
The ball sits there a few seconds before an Oregon player picks it up, kind of looking at the side judge to see what the ruling in, and a Utah player tries to wrestle the ball away from him, ends up knocking it to the ground. Another Oregon player picks it up and returns it 100 yards for an Oregon TD.

even crazier than the Wofford @ UNI kickoff play from the playoffs a few years ago.

[Hammerhead]

Craziest play I can remember seeing.

[MTfan4life]

Why does this happen so often? What's the benefit of letting it go as close to crossing the goal line as possible? At least in the Wofford guy's case, there is a rule in high school that you can't return a kickoff out of the endzone. So you could just say he didn't know any better. There's no rule at any level that says you're not going to look like a total idiot if you let go of the football for no reason at all before you cross the goal line.

[Bearkat91]

Why does this happen so often? What's the benefit of letting it go as close to crossing the goal line as possible? At least in the Wofford guy's case, there is a rule in high school that you can't return a kickoff out of the endzone. So you could just say he didn't know any better. There's no rule at any level that says you're not going to look like a total idiot if you let go of the football for no reason at all before you cross the goal line.

When Willie Fritz was at SHSU, he had a rule about this. Players who scored handed the ball to a referee. No dropping the ball, no tossing it to a ref. They went to the referee and handed it to him. Maybe Whittingham should consider implementing that rule.

[dudeitsaid]

When Willie Fritz was at SHSU, he had a rule about this. Players who scored handed the ball to a referee. No dropping the ball, no tossing it to a ref. They went to the referee and handed it to him. Maybe Whittingham should consider implementing that rule.
Good rule!

I agree this type of "celebration" is haphazard. One of our players did the same thing in a playoff game against Illinois St. It cost us a TD. Thankfully, we kept possession and still got three points. And thankfully, we still won the game.

[HailSzczur]

When Willie Fritz was at SHSU, he had a rule about this. Players who scored handed the ball to a referee. No dropping the ball, no tossing it to a ref. They went to the referee and handed it to him. Maybe Whittingham should consider implementing that rule.

Always used to be a Andy Talley rule. Doesn't seem to be as enforced now, typically its flip it towards the ref or hand it to him though. If you watch any of Brian Westbrook's highlights from college, he makes a beeline to the ref.